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EINSJÄGER & SIEBENJÄGER

Popol Vuh

Krautrock


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Popol Vuh Einsjäger & Siebenjäger album cover
4.02 | 152 ratings | 10 reviews | 31% 5 stars

Excellent addition to any
prog rock music collection

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Studio Album, released in 1974

Songs / Tracks Listing

1. Kleiner Krieger (1:05)
2. King Minos (4:30)
3. Morgengruß (2:55)
4. Würfelspiel (3:00)
5. Gutes Land (5:13)
6. Einsjäger & Siebenjäger (19:30)

Total Time: 36:13

Bonus tracks on 2004 CD reissue:
7. King Minos II (1:55)
8. Wo bist Du? (5:42)

Line-up / Musicians

- Djong Yun / soprano vocals
- Florian Fricke / piano, spinet, arrangements
- Daniel Fichelscher / electric & acoustic guitars, percussion, arrangements

With:
- Olaf Kübler / flute (4)

Releases information

Artwork: Peter Geitner with Bettina Fricke (photo)

LP Kosmische Musik - KM 58017 (1974, Germany)

CD Spalax - 14218 (1992, France)
CD SPV Recordings ‎- SPV 085-70152 CD (2004, Germany) With 2 bonus tracks

Thanks to ProgLucky for the addition
and to Quinino for the last updates
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POPOL VUH Einsjäger & Siebenjäger ratings distribution


4.02
(152 ratings)
Essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music(31%)
31%
Excellent addition to any prog rock music collection(49%)
49%
Good, but non-essential (16%)
16%
Collectors/fans only (3%)
3%
Poor. Only for completionists (2%)
2%

POPOL VUH Einsjäger & Siebenjäger reviews


Showing all collaborators reviews and last reviews preview | Show all reviews/ratings

Collaborators/Experts Reviews

Review by Sean Trane
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Prog Folk
4 stars I could almost award this one another halfstar but I won't for a few reasons i will explain further on in my review. With this album , Popol Vuh is down to a trio and it is this basic trio that will be the line-up for many excellent albums to come. Only the vocalist will change for sometimes being the japanese Yun and sometimes ex-Amon Duul II Renate Knaups (very different female vocalists).

We are now almost halfway through their second period (the first being experimental , this one, I shall call more symphonic, and the later being more Ambient mostly because of all the soundtracks from Herzog movies) and this fifth album is close to their artistic peak.

side 1 picks off where the previous Seligpreisung left off and smooths out the few "rough edges"/imperfections (if we could call them that) and we find that they have always this very contemplative music . Overall , the music stays very calm serene but does have a few climaxes and great interplay between the electric guitars and the acoustic pianos , the whole thing divinely underlined by those ethnic percussions. Yun's vocals are very discreet.

Side 2 is made of one side-long title track (no epic, though). This must be my fave track from Popol as it is simply breathtaking in contemplation (it is also one of my fave make-out tune and it can be repeated without too much noticing - provided you are still taking care of your mate at the third time this track ends) , again typically Vuh-ish.

I think that proghead newcomers to this bands should maybe get a peek/preview hearing at this one before deciding if Popol Vuh is worthy of their investigation. I certainly think so.

Review by loserboy
PROG REVIEWER
4 stars Like so many other bands, POPOL VUH had their eras in creative output and in sharp contrast to their electronic-centric start, "Einsjager & Siebenjager" shows us a more melodic side. This was their 5th album and represents a brilliant symphonic album with a great balance of keyboards (Florian Fricke), guitar , percussion (Daniel Fichelscher) and infrequent vocals (Djung Yun). POPOL VUH were rally known for their movie soundtrack work (aka Italy's GOBLIN) and this album although not a soundtrack certainly plays not unlike sonically. The fine folks at SPV have added 2 shorter but excellent bonus tracks to the re-mastered version which I would certainly recommend to all lovers of POPOL VUH.
Review by philippe
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
4 stars Einsjäger & Siebenjäger represents the typical signature of Popol Vuh's best years. Guitar circular riffs, calm reflective solos with piano emotional, discreet parts (as it was floating in the sky). As usual and hopefully the band delivers a very peaceful, humanistic music directed to the wonderful, quiet, introspect moments of life. This album can be played to evoke the mental inner landscapes we can dream about, the eyes closed. The first track (recorded later for the Nosferatu's album) contains a mystical repetitive guitar pattern played as a sitar drone. "King Minos" (also included in the Nosferatu's compilation) is a landmark of the band at its most progressive rock moments. It consists of a floating, pleasant and tremendous electric guitar's exercises illustrated by Fichelscher very characteristic guitar playing. The following tunes globally pursue the same scheme, sometimes bringing to the fore Florian Fricke's delicate, dreamy piano notes. A fine album, well recommended for completists. A nice introduction to the band's musical career.
Review by oliverstoned
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
4 stars 4,5 stars

A classic from the band's mid period -the most inspired-, released in 1974 after "Seligpreisung", the band keeps this simple instrumentation's formula without the use of "exotic" instruments.

Overall more melodic than most others Popol vuh albums, the music builds on drum and piano, shiny and expressive guitar solos. Some pieces are in a contemplative's vein thanks to quiet piano parts and Djung Yun's help on vocals, contributing to this trademark Popol vuh's meditative atmosphere.

The long eponym piece "Einsjäger & Siebenjäger" features energetic moments, repetitive and melodic developments with many breaks, changes and accelerations, lead by bright guitar with this slightly acid flavour, lyrical and virtuoso playing.

One of the best Popol vuh albums, from the golden era.

Review by Mellotron Storm
PROG REVIEWER
4 stars Once again Florian blesses us with some meditative and reflective music. And I have to say that this is one of my favourites from him. Down to a trio here with Djong Yun on vocals, while Daniel Fichelscher adds electric and acoustic guitars and percussion. Florian is mostly on piano but does add some spinett, which is a smaller version of a harpsichord.

"Kleiner Krieger" is just over a minute of very cool and pleasant sounding acoustic guitar and spinett. "King Minos" features a piano, drum and guitar melody that is really enjoyable. It does settle a little after 2 minutes as the guitar becomes more prominant. "Morgengrob" is laid back and led by intricate guitar melodies. Strummed guitar comes in as the electric guitar plays over the top. Beautiful. "Wurfelspiel" opens with piano as some guest flute joins in followed by a full sound as drums and guitar arrive. "Gutes Land" opens with the sparse sounds of piano and cymbals that come and go. A full sound kicks in with a melody before 3 minutes. As it settles again the guitar comes in.

"Einsjager & Siebenjager" is the side long suite at over 19 minutes. Piano, cymbals then vocals lead off before drums and a fuller sound kicks in.That familiar sounding guitar arrives before 3 minutes. It settles again as the contrast continues. Nice piano work before 9 minutes. Vocals are back 10 minutes in as it calms right down, but not for long. The guitar shines 12 minute in. Another calm 14 minutes in. Back to the fuller sound as contrasts continue. Vocals return before 17 minutes. What a great way to end the album.

In my opinion if there is such a thing as spiritual music this is it, along with IONA's special sound. In fact if you keep this in mind while listening to POPOl VUH the music will become much more meaningful.

Review by Bonnek
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
3 stars Fifth Popol Vuh album and their third in Florian Fricke's series of ethnic flavored spiritual musings. There are almost no vocals this time and the material has a more energetic feel. Still, don't expect rock 'n' roll as the musical pattern of textured clean guitars, pastoral feelings and religious atmosphere has remained largely unchanged.

Einsjäger & Siebenjäger consists of mostly acoustic music with a relaxed pastoral feel that will remind many listeners of Oldfield's Tubular Bells, but of course Fricke was the true pioneer. While I miss a certain highlight I do find the album to be very consistent and a mark-up compared to the preceding Seligpreising, though that may solely have to do with my disappointment with the vocals on that album.

The first half of the album is truly stunning, very diverse, dynamic and intricate. It has immediate appeal but also continues to reveal more depth with each listen. The percussive drumming give the songs a drive that was missing from previous albums. The second half of the album is consumed by the 19.30 minute title track. It's a scenic piece consisting of multiple short sketches that are strung together. Some parts feature angelic female vocals. Compared to the shorter tracks that preceded, it takes a bit more effort to appreciate it, and it kind of loses steam by the end. But it's sure worth the effort.

It looks as if Popol Vuh was getting increasingly comfortable with their new formula, and indeed, more excellent albums would follow. 3.5 stars

Review by Warthur
PROG REVIEWER
4 stars Gila's Conny Veit steps out and Daniel Fichelscher slides gracefully into the guitarist role on this Popol Vuh album, which takes much the same approach as its predecessor - to the point where I was surprised to discover that Fichelscher took the lead guitar this time around, since his solos often sound a lot like Veit's. Another strong Popol Vuh album which will generally appeal to fans of the band, and succeeding sufficiently in capturing this gorgeously mellow atmosphere than I am inclined to forgive the fact that it is kind of just more of the same (the major difference here is that the vocals are trimmed back).
Review by Eetu Pellonpaa
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
4 stars This album is practically a duo work by Florian Fricke and Daniel Fichelscher, both portrayed together in the back side of the LP, Djung Yun visiting only in few occasions for the celestial vocal parts. I understood from an interview that the recording methods with Daniel grew to a philosophy of having only one take for the songs, and mixing all singular recordings to the album. If so, I guess this would capture the true intuition of the playing moment to the records, but might also partly explain the slightly fragmentary feeling left from the first side of the album. The characteristic musical reference to the ancient cultures shimmer powerfully from the short war fanfare opening, which sticks in repetitive mantric loops of guitar and keyboards. The music on the album is transcendental as ever, but the themes are not drawn from religious vocabulary, but instead directing to Greek mythology, in spite of the record's Japanese-styled archer drawing on the cover. The sonic presentation of King Minos is positive and delightful exploration in quite rock-basis emphasized flight over royal pastures of Crete. Powerful crashes of cymbals give interesting divine shimmer to the rhythmic pulse, strengthened by more subtle percussions, and forming a fine basis for the multilayered guitar driven improvisations circling around the solitary key note. "Morgengruß" greets the dawn with gentle acoustic guitar layers, caressing a tender solo from amplified guitar, and setting the scenery for gambling sequence of "Würfelspiel". Piano and flute are emphasized on this track balancing the guitar presence, having also lovely melodies and fine rhythmic arrangements with drums. I also believe that in spite of the stronger rock association of drums, there is no bass guitar on the album, lower notes being played from the piano, and this giving another peculiar tone to the record's sound. The first side closes to slow grandiose visions of Promised Land, its illuminations carefully lingering on the piano keyboards, leading to the familiar ascension theme from previous "Seligpreisung" album's "Agnus Dei", this being certainly some sort of leitmotiv of spiritual climax for Florian.

The title track of the album occupies the whole B-side of the LP, and conjures an epic tale with Djung's vocals uniting the beautiful piano chords and waves of drum plates on the soothing opening sequence. The still scenery starts to wave with motion, and guitars join this delightful quest for sounds with the tom drums. I think the rock elements which burst on bloom on the earlier album have merged here pleasantly to the ethereal acoustic charms discovered on the monumental masterpiece "Hosianna Mantra". This synthesis of sounds wander here relaxed from one theme to another, flowing with prosperous logics and allowing the mental states flying on the wings of angels, being along with second album's "Vuh" one of the personal major highlights on Popol Vuh's recordings. I tried to decipher the possible meaning for the name of this wonderful song and album title with the clue from King Minos. Following the tales and myths related to him, one hunter could be Theseus, sent among seven men to the labyrinth of Minotaur, and slaying this mythic beast. Other possibility might be Orion, whom Zeus, the father of King Minos, set as seven stars to heavens for forming this singular star constellation. I most possibly go wrong with these guesses, but studying these matters from the history books might be one pleasant activity whilst listening to this enlightening album. Also anybody allergic to religious references can approach this album more easier than several other Popol Vuh albums.

Latest members reviews

5 stars Excellent. Beautiful, majestic music. It is just absolutely amazing how two people could create and perform a 20-minute piece of music so elaborate and moving as the title track (plus occasional vocals). How could they create such a dynamic track with so much energy and emotion by doing successiv ... (read more)

Report this review (#286325) | Posted by listen | Sunday, June 13, 2010 | Review Permanlink

5 stars The time of collaboration of Florian Fricke and Daniel Fichelscher is the most profilic period of POPOL VUH. This is shown also on this album. The sound is well balanced between piano, guitar and drums. Yun's vocal appears only rarely. The highlight is the side-long title track. It's some kind of ... (read more)

Report this review (#31938) | Posted by terramystic | Monday, March 28, 2005 | Review Permanlink

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